Prophets of the Hood has truly been a fascinating read. I knew on some level that hip hop is very complex, but I have never taken the time to seriously think about it or dissect it. I've been thinking a good deal about the last chapter, where Perry comments on the direction hip hop is moving. She says that "status is attached to the goods, not in the mimicry of white privilege, but rather in an effort to recast status." She also says that hip hop's extreme consumerism can mark a form of subversion, but that it is also related to the larger capitalist framework and culture that hip hop exists within.

I see two sides of a contradiction at play here. One is the effort to create a Black culture that is its own, that values Blackness and innovates in a society that constantly devalues Blackness. The other side of the contradiction is still existing within that very society while trying to escape it, in a way. Perhaps to be more clear, what I'm trying to say is that hip hop tries to subvert racist culture and ideology, but in order to do so it still defines itself in relation to such ideology. It is impossible to create something completely separate and independent. I have been thinking about this because it seems that one is not truly escaping the oppression they face if they are constantly defining themselves in a negative reaction to it. To give another example, my friend chose not to learn how to cook because it is what women are supposed to do, and she did not want to fit into the stereotype. But she did not make that decision because she had no interest in cooking, rather she was reacting negatively to sexism. Is this being liberated from sexism if you are still reacting in relation to it?

Then again, is it even possible not to do that? And is hip hop trying to be a truly liberating force, or to give some sense of reprieve and distinct culture within this society? It seems to me that there are limits to trying to create something liberating while still existing within a racist society. No matter what, one will be reacting in a negative relation to the racist ideology. Therefore, I think that hip hop has the ability to create space for limited liberation, but it is still saturated with racism and sexism, whether directly or in directly, that it is quite limited. We would have to destroy racism before truly independent and liberating culture can be produced.

Understanding Black masculinity

           

            Dear Imani Perry,

            Thank you for your laborious research and thoughtful analysis on hip-hop. I have never had the opportunity to engage with scholarship on the history and culture of hip-hop in the Black community. I wanted to write to you about chapters 5 and 6 because they left me with a lot of unanswered questions. You dedicated an entire chapter to exploring masculinity in hip-hop and most importantly, you provided a historical socio-political framework for your analysis. This particular chapter caused me to think deeply about my judgments of male-dominated hip-hop culture. While I recognize that not all hip-hop and rap is misogynistic and sexist, a lot of the lyrics and messaging make me feel extremely uncomfortable as woman, and these feelings are heightened when I am surrounded by men bobbing their heads to the beat and singing a long. Chapter 5 challenged my perceptions and forced me to think critically about black masculinity in relation to white masculinity. You write, “it is, in fact, a sense of powerlessness in the face of white masculinity, and the fear of being pimped at the hands of wealthy white recording moguls, that guides the hyper-masculinist moment, and the heterosexist moment as racial anxiety is articulated through a patriarchal cultural lens when the fear of being “bitched” finds artistic expression”(124). At first, I struggled with your argument because, at times, it felt like you were making an excuse for misogynistic sexist violent behavior against women. However, instead of making excuses for this behavior, this you helped me to contextualize black masculinity through an important historical framework that addresses the pervasive white power structure that disempowers black men. With that being said I did feel like your language and tone was apologetic of black masculinity. I feel that you could have provided the historical context while being critical of black masculinity. I would be curious to know how a black male audience would receive your commentary on black masculinity in hip-hop. Do you think they would use your work to better understand their behavior and understand how they oppress Black women? Or, do you think they may understand your work to be an excuse for their sexist and violent behavior against Black women?

Looking forward to your response.

Best,

Ry

I'm Sorry I'm Surprised

Dear Dr. Perry,
As I read your beautifully authored Prophets of the Hood, I find myself consistently surprised by the depth and breadth of your analysis. While I've never doubted hip hop and rap music were worthy of academic exploration, I also never imagined studying them could yield such robust and intriguing findings. But this is problematic--I would never be surprised that research exploring classical music or any kind of indigenous music would result in extensive insights.
One of the most pervasive themes in AAWL has been our tendency to regard anything black as inherently unsophisticated or undesirable. In the context of mixed race people (or those who could pass as such), for example, we've agreed that "black" is generally an unsatisfactory answer because we've been conditioned to believe what makes one beautiful cannot be one's blackness. Similarly, in this case, I think what surprises me about your book is the caliber of scholastic insight that can come from studying something so black. I hate that I've been conditioned to think this way and I hate that most people who've been privy to the same conditioning will never take the time to understand how fallacious this line of thinking truly is.
I'm sorry for being surprised by the quality of your research. I'm sorry for being surprised by your eloquent and powerful style of writing. I'm sorry for being surprised to find out that you graduated from Harvard Law School at 27. I'm sorry for being surprised that you had a PhD and an LLM too. I'm sorry for being surprised at the legitimacy of a black woman studying black people and black things to such an extent. I'm sorry that I underestimated you, and I'm sorry that American society continues to underestimate us.

Dear Maiesha

Dear Maiesha,

Your portrayal of Ethel Waters was excellent as well as your ability to have intellectual conversation about her character and nature. In our discussion about the controversial ending of the play and the problematic issue of the white savior complex, you something that truly resonated with me and my responsibility as a young person. You discussed the importance of forgiveness and deliverance .

On the subject of forgiveness and deliverance, I really enjoyed how you explored Ethel's spiritual awakening. While the ending does not do a good job of displaying this awakening, one important point was that harboring hatred does not produce a fruitful outcome in any revolution. Rather, it is important to be motivated by the need for change itself. To forgive is not to negate the experiences of racism and violence one has experienced nor is it a form of complacency; rather it is an action that places the power from the hand of the oppressor to the hands of the oppressed.


Kyle

A Confused A Black Girl

    After watching His Eye on the Sparrow and reading Imani Perry's Prophets of The Hood I do not know where I stand in history as a black women in history or if there was ever really a place for within this history. I take pride in women like Ethel Waters who suffered through so much abusive but still managed to make through and speak her worth into existence. She made each and everyone of her decisions matter and I just don't know as a dark-skinned women in society I can be able to do the same. Yes there are movements that aimed to bring women of all skin tones togethers like the melanin movement but even within those movements you never see a "true" dark-skinned girl. When you look at hip-hop videos todays and before African-American women bodies are over sexualized and yes this exploitation of the bodies affect all African-American women but you never really see a dark-skin girl as the lead person in the video. After watching the play and thinking about hip-hop female rappers it made realize that even though African-American women are united and tend to work together there are parts of society that still attempt to keep us divided.
   As a dark-skin women myself and from learning about the history of other dark toned women like myself I believe there is a mindset within society that causes to have to work a step more than our fellow sister. There is more abusive suffered and more obstacles in our ways. Don't get me wrong I am not discrediting other African-American women and their struggles and triumphs. I am just saying there is a nuance difference within the common struggle we all share that cause people like myself to struggle a little more to find our place within the society and what being a women means for me not only within society but within our history as African American women,

-Tamara Morris 

Soooooo......Let me get this straight...

Dear Mr. Playwright, Sir,

So let me get this straight….

Did you really just make this observation that white men can’t write stories about black women because they don’t know nothing bout their lives, but then you did it?

Let get this straight,

Did you really just act like you wrote this simply to give an inside look into the life of Ethel Waters?

Did you really just insinuate that the point of the play was to show Ethel’s epiphany in the importance of a Christian mindset, but then only really mentioned her lack of spirituality at the very beginning of Act I?

Did you really just play into this idea of a negro woman making a name for herself after many tribulations, but then give the credit to someone else?

What I wanna know is,

How you gonna make this play, focusing on Ethel as an independent, and then turn around and make it for white folk?

As I sat amongst this almost all-white old crowd, I silently took note of every line they chose to laugh at and how uncomfortable they got every time the actress said the word nigga. I thought to myself “Why are they here seeing this play about Ethel Waters if they can’t handle the dialect?” Probably because you gave them something to look forward to, making the silent cringes throughout the play worth it.

Honestly, white people’s favorite thing is to feel like they’ve helped out the poor little defenseless black people. As if they are God’s gift to Earth. So, as a white man, don’t you sit there and try to tell me you didn’t make this play for white folk.

You told them what they wanna hear. They gave a standing ovation. And they left. Feeling ever-so-satisfied. As if they personally, helped Ethel.

And let me just get one last thing straight…….

Were you really celebrating the life of Ethel Waters or merely showing an example of the blessing white men are to black women?

Sanura

Why Mr. Parr?

Dear Mr. Parr,

I have a few questions for you on your play His Eye is on the Sparrow. What did you have in mind for Ethel's character? Did you keep your story as close to her life as possible or did you use her, because of her  celebrity, and stretch her truth? Did you use her to accomplish a goal of presenting whites as the saviors of the black race and blaming blacks for their lowly positions in society? Who did you write for? Did you write to educate white audiences and personify black bodies or did you write to appease them, to make them feel whole and holy? Tell me Mr. Parr, who?

Your message contradicts itself, flip-flops, and takes the careful observer through a maze of light and shadows. You spend the majority of the play building up Ethel as strong, resilient, talented, and humble. However, you end it in an entirely different way. You present a handsome white man as the presence that fills the gaping hole missing in Ethel's life, her need for a child.  You have her find her salvation and fullness in white society and make her turn on her own race and proclaim herself a "racist" when, in all actuality, the distrust that she feels towards whites is totally warranted. What did you mean to teach? Who did you mean to please? If you were writing the play today, would Ethel still have found her salvation in whiteness?

Wanting to know more,

Vanessa Sims